San Remo/Dolceacqua Italy

8am Oct 23, 2014.  We now have the bus loading routine down to a fine art.  The entry to our apartment complex is too small to accommodate the big bus, so we have been experimenting with different pick up points.  Several of previous efforts resulted in the frantic and direct response from the locals.  IE.  hand gestures and horn honking, more hand gestures sometimes with both hands!!!  I never did figure out how they honked and worked their hands simultaneously.  One cannot block the street in Saint Laurent du Var.  Not even for a minute.  With that understood, we found a spot just down the street from the apartment where the bus could park unmolested from the main road.  Loaded up, we are on our way to The Italian Riviera.

San Remo, is a mere 43 kilometres from Nice.  It is immediately apparent that we are no longer in France.  The land is steeply sloped running from the mountains down to the sea.  Every square inch of available area has been terraced using ancient stones to create agricultural land.  Olive trees and grape vines fight for the sun along with vegetables gardens.  It is a testament to the tenacity of the Ligurian peasant farmers that developed this area.  The centuries of effort must have been herculean to cultivate  such an alluring atterrare (ground for the non-italians)!  I attempted to photograph the view , however the twisting road combined with the sunlight bouncing off the bus windows produced nothing worthy of the landscape.  You will just have to take my word for it, or better yet....come and visit it yourself.     

Even clothing styles are different, more muted colours, more crisp.  This is not to say that the French Riviera inhabitants dress poorly, the contrast is best manifested in difference between a shirt buttoned to the top of one's neck versus worn more loosely.  Such is the subtle differences between these former Ligurian's cousins.  

San Remo was founded in Roman times. La citta del Fiori, (city of flowers)  is best known today for tourism as part of the Italian Riviera.  The city also plays host to some important cultural events such as the "Milan to San Remo Cycling Classic" and the "San Remo Music Festival" or Italian Song festival, the latter of which began in January 1951.  Hosting the festival was intended to help pull the area out of a tough economic environment.  Needless to say it succeeded.   Unlike other music festivals, this one was designed to showcase song writers more then singers.  The songs must be previously unrecorded and performed twice by two different artists.  Additionally, one of the artist must be Italian, the second artist would be an international guest. This festival was the launch pad for many stars, not the least of which was a young Andrea Bocelli in 1994!  In 1958-my birth year- a four time winner of this event, Domenico Modugno, Italy's first contautore, sang "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu"! Does anyone out there know what that song is in English?  There is a YouTube video of Domenico performing it on the Ed Sullivan show.  Check it out, but try and guess the song title first. Here is a hint to help you.  There was a car manufactured by Pymouth in the late 70's that used the same name. LOL

https://youtu.be/t4IjJav7xbg

Upon arrival, I was in desperate need of coffee.  The Italians make great coffee.  Johanne and I found this little Caffe shop just off the main piazza.   Everyone there was speaking Italian, no tourists, no commercial desire to serve tourists.  We ordered, using a mumbled form of Italian.  Shortly thereafter, a rich Cappuccino and a biscottei arrived.  We sat outside enjoying the morning sun with a plan to reconnect with our group for a visit to the local market.

Vespa parked, shopping sack in hand, the locals were also planning a market day.

We tasted our way through all the food groups. Italian shop keepers were more than pleased to offer us examples of their products.  One particular stall was overrun by our group of eager sampler's keen on testing the local cheese and Olive Oil.  Here they grow taggiasca olives, light in colour and smooth tasting!   Product marketing works....as many purchased much of what was tasted.  Fresh and delicious!  I held off as I was sure there was going to be a nice lunch in the near future.  

Rivolte di San Sebastiano(winding, stepped alleyways) lead us to La Piazza Dei Dolori, pictured above.   This is one of the most characteristic squares among the many adorning this historic town.  Winding and steps is an appropriate description of this old area.  We climbed a ton of stairs exploring... before arriving at Restorante Urbicia Vivas.  The menu was interesting and inexpensive,  a good combination. Fettuccine with Shrimp in a light tomato sauce for Johanne, Gnocchi with a spicy tomato sauce for moi, followed by veal medallions and sardines shared equally between us, and a nice nice little Chianti to wash it down.  Perfect taste of Italy!

We navigated our way back through the labyrinth to the shopping area for a quick look around before heading to Dolceacqua for the remainder of the afternoon.  

Dolceacqua, is really two places.  The old and the really old.  The ancient centre or "Terra"  is seen above.  The Nineteenth century section called the "Borgo"  is out of the frame to the left of the bridge.  Long considered one of the must see small villages in Italy,  Dolceacqua has a long and rich history, dating back to the 11th century.  The medieval walled village was towered over by the Doria castle, inhabited by one of the founding families of Liguria.  

 Monet loved this village, dedicating 4 works to the village and defining the ancient humpback bridge as a "jewel of lightness".  Once we cross the bridge, entry to the time worn centre is through this gate(see above).  The "carrugi" or narrow shaded streets weave their way up to the castle.  The homes here are very tall, some as much as 6 stories, creating a closed, kind of cramped feeling at times.  The rays of sunlight, a happy welcome as we climb the steps toward the castle.

 During our exploration we happened to uncover a small Enoteca. The proprietor was quite pleased to offer us a degustazione!  So while the group, Johanne included, went off to watch a short film describing the area, I stayed behind to manage the arduous task of researching the grape....Rossese di Dolceacqua.  This is the first wine from Liguria to receive the DOC designation.  Soft, aromatic and slightly sweet, the wine must have an alcohol content of no less the 12.5%.  It is designated superior when above 13%. The production for this wine is very limited thus is relatively unknown outside of this area of the Mediterranean.

Festivals are abundant in all parts of Europe.  The Festival of the Michetta, held each year on August 16th in this town, does have an unusual reason for being.  Way back in the 1300's, the lord of the villages throughout Europe had a power referred to as "the jus primae noctis".  This power provided the ultimate demonstration of control over the peasants.  It is said that the lord had the unequivocal right to share the peasant bride at his choosing.  In the year 1364, the Lord Doris sent a message requesting the company of a certain young beauty...she refused his request.  Not good......  He threw her in jail with a view to letting her rot in prison.  The town revolted, forcing the Marquis Doria to relent his abuse of power.  Ever since, there has been celebration, on the 16th of August, to commemerate the victory of Love over Power!  The woman of the village created a sweet bread called Michetta as an enduring symbol of love and freedom.

A very peaceful place.  The group was full of smiles on this trip.  I was full of food and wine.  I wonder what we are having for dinner. LOL

Ciao

Be well

Saint Laurent Du Var, French Rivera

September 26th, 2014.  Nice looks burnt red from the sky.  The sun was setting as we made our approach into Nice International Airport.   Clay tile rooftops make an interesting contrast to the blue Mediterranean Sea.

It has been some time since we visited the French Riviera and I've been dragging my feet (or fingers) in posting details of our journey there.  Of course, I have many excuses....We have been so engaged with our tour obligations (a quick 6 days in Madeira immediately upon leaving Nice followed by a 3 week long stay in Portugal), a crazy Christmas season with our kids in Palm Springs...... there just hasn't been time to tell the story.

Well, where to begin? Johanne and I had 65 guests with us to visit the French Riviera. Our group of relative strangers became fast friends virtually overnight or more accurately, over happy hour.

65 fully grown adults with a wide variety of experience,  and the desire to add to their travel resumes makes for very interesting interactions.  In the end, we asked them to share a "Letterman style"  list of the things they liked during the visit.  What we received was simply amazing.  Virtually everyone provided more than five highlights!  The top five were mentioned so many times, it was as if everyone shared their thoughts.  The next five were so close, I felt I should list them all.  The French Riviera is truly a must visit! Our location ensured that we would be able to get to all the sites quickly and easily  (Thus it's ranking as number one on the list)  (see below)

1.  The location of the apartment in St-Laurent du Var and Nice within easy reach  
2.  Excursion to Dolce Aqua/San Remo     
3.  The Boat tour to Cannes
4.  Happy Hour                    
5.  Excursion to Gorges du Verdon, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and town of Gordes
6. Proximity and variety of stops from local bus service (cheap too)
7. Swimming in the Mediterranean
8. Organized group special dinners
9. Excursion to Eze, Monaco and Monte Carlo              
10. Tour of Saint Paul de Vence

I thought it would be prudent to follow the list to unroll the map of our adventure.

1. Starting with the location:

Saint Laurent du Var, 4 kms from the centre of Nice.  I could spend a dictionary of words describing the area... and still not do justice to what we experienced.  Those who were there know....for those reading, I guess you will just have to come with us when we go again in the fall of 2015.( as of the date of this posting we have only 14 spaces left for this year).

Our apartment is situated about 200 metres from the Mediterranean.  A tourism office providing separation from a beautiful beach on one side and a row of around 50 restaurants on the other.  The bus stop located behind the apartment offers easy access to the 10 minute bus ride towards Nice (the most famous city on the cote d'azur/Riviera, which we will describe later)  or the 40 minute journey towards Cannes and the famous "croisette"....all for 1 to 3 euros. The neighbouring Cagnes sur mer offers all the services of market, shopping etc....within a 10 minute walk from our home. What a treat!

 

Since Nice is also part of the ranking as #1.....let's hop on the number 200 bus and head downtown.  Of course the food of France always stands out, specially if you have my stomach size (Johanne thinks I have a tape worm!)  The woman below, had a stall in the famous market called, "the Cours Saleya".  Home to the daily flower market, it is among the most traditional squares in the city.  We sampled two very local delicacies. The first one is called "Socca".  A crepe style dish, made by mixing ground chick peas, water and olive oil, then baking it in a large open pan.  Served wrapped in a lightly waxed paper, the chef deftly portioned the Socca by eye, using a crudely fashioned trowel like tool....half knife half spatula.  Once she felt the size and weight was just right it was handed over.  3 euros was exchanged for this delight... generous enough for two.   It is hard to describe the texture.  Somewhere between a savory pizza and a pastry.  Delicious.

The second was a deep fried zucchini flower.  The crunchy batter was a perfect compliment to the delicate flower.  I can't wait to go back and get some more.

We love the market's in France.  So fresh, local and full of energy.

In Nice, be prepared to walk...a lot!.   Which is good given all the food you will ingest while you are there.  We climbed the stairs to get to the Castle Hill park for a fantastic view of the the Nice harbour and to work up an appetite for the next food extravaganza.

Given that it has been several months since our visit to this area, it would be easy to think that the trip faded from memory.  Au contraire!!! France never fades from memory.  

Nice was not always French  it was once part of Liguria, which included much of what we know as Piedmont and Tuscany....... Italy today.  As you venture around this city you can immediately recognize the cultural connection to Italy.  Food and style clearly has retained the old world influences.   It is what draws one to this place.  French but not quite French.  It has something more, a spice, a rebelliousness  that you don't feel in other regions of the country.   Starting with a stroll from the western edge of the city along the Promenade Des Anglais, you are bombarded with an extraordinary visual canvas.  Soft sand beaches melt into the azure blue waters of the "Baie des Anges"  The seashore is adorned with what were the winter homes for the English nobles.  Queen Victoria made Nice her home away from home, thus sparking the pilgrimage to the French Riviera for the winter.  In fact, the English are responsible for the magnificent boardwalk along the Promenade.  It seems that during particularly difficult winter in England back in the 18th century, Nice became flooded with beggars from the north.  In order to manage the new population, the nobles decided to put them to work.  The result of this decision is the boardwalk!  I wonder if the beggars were consulted?

The city is very hilly and requires a strong heart and legs to get around.  Take the bus to the high ground to visit most of the main museums or take an elevator to the "Castle" for the best views.  The oldest quarters of the city are situated near the port.  There are so many interesting streets to visit that it takes many days to completely satisfy our curiosity.  The good news is, with our hotel so close and the mere 1.5 euro fee to get there, we could go every day!  No wonder the group rated the hotel location as number one!  We even managed to take in a Verdi opera at last minute, at the splendid "Opera de Nice".  Started very small in 1776, it was renamed in 1826, Theatre Royal and rebuilt by it's new owner, the City of Nice!  In 1860, it hosted Napoleon III.  That night Johann Strauss lead the orchestra.  Napoleon visited again in 1864 with Czar Alexander II of Russia.  In 1881, a fire destroyed the building, the city rebuilt it again.  Re-opening in 1885 to to great fan fair with performance of Verdi's Aida.  It was renamed "Opera de Nice" in 1902, playing host to opera, ballet and classical music ever since!  The architecture is amazing!   If art is your thing then you will love Nice!  Matisse, Chagall, Modern Art, Beaux-arts de Nice museum's are all within reach.  

Enough of the history lesson.  I am hungry.  We had some very interesting meals in Nice, one near the opera with tapas "a la francaise" and another with Johanne's brother and friend visiting around the same time as us. The multitude of streets are packed with restaurants.  We had a hard time making a choice with so many options. In the end we followed Johanne's brother's advice, returning to a great little seafood spot that they had been to earlier , on a street I am sure we will never find again. Great food and great company.  

The French Riviera Classic Motor Show was presented during our stay, in Nice.  I few of the guys in the group wanted to go.  No problem, I will find out where and when.  A quick trip to the tourist office secured the details.  The next morning, after additional careful study of google maps, 12 of us ventured forth.  Without our French translator, I might add.  The funny thing,  as we departed for the bus, the group was smiling, confident that I would be a reasonable substitute for the official French translator, aka  Johanne. Well,  fake it 'til you make it right?  The bus was fairly easy, except we ended up at the airport.  I, looking confident, unlike the group, assured them that this was the correct stop.  I know where to go, pointing to a tall sign on the horizon as our beacon. We cross under the Promenade de Anglais, me..... the "Pied Piper" leading the not so youthful army.  Upon exiting the tunnel, we are presented with.... a parking lot.  Confidence is a funny thing,. here today..... gone today.  No problem! I stop a passing Frenchman.  Pardonnez- moi!  Ou est l' exhibition de Motor Car?  Quickly referring him to the flyer I have brought for this very occasion.  So far my French is working perfectly!!! The boys are now confident again...I can feel it.  The stranger looks at the information and fires a machine gun litany of information at me.  I look right at him, completely enraptured by every word.  When it seems he is satisfied with his directions, in other words, he stopped talking, I simply said:

" Merci".  He noddled his head, smiled, exclaimed: "de rien" and walked away.  I turned to the group, they, looking pleased with their choice of translator, asked what was said.  To which I replied "we need to go this way"  pointing to the road that we had just walked under.  With no further distractions, we made it to the show.  

As you see, there was an interesting collection of cars, including an F1 Ferrari that won the Canadian Grand Prix.  We spend a few hours wondering admiringly.  As a bonus, the exhibition included some food trucks, one offering a good old fashion burger.  Virtually everyone in the group had one.  Cars, burgers and beer.  A perfect guy day!

  

We will be visiting Nice again to explore it in greater detail in September 2015.  Stay tuned we will share what we find.  

The Number 2 on the best list.....Dolce Aqua/ San Remo:  I little slice of Italy! Come back and visit the blog as I will share our adventures in the next post later this week.

Be well

Sante